Old Horizontal | Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown

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Notes / Commercial Description:
Massive amounts of barley malts, combined with fresh harvest American hops make it aromatic and spicy on the nose. Floral, fruity aromas slide into honeyed malt depth with lingering sensations of candied and citrus fruit. Late warming alcohol brings all of these flavors into wonderful harmony to finish.

More User Reviews:

Picked up a bomber at TW Arrowhead in mid-January for $8.99. Enjoy by 12-Nov-2020.

Beer poured a rust color with a decent white head that fizzled out quickly.

Nose is vegetal with some hints of pineapple.

Taste is floral hop forward with a huge caramel malt base but the hops win in the end.

Mouthfeel is full and smooth.

Overall not a bad beer but i am curious to see what some aging will do. I love Victory's quality and i can only see this beer getting better so i will track another bottle down and give it a try 3 years down the road. Cheers!

This is a 5 year old bottle (2009) and is spot on. Aged beautifully. Still has bitterness but balanced with the rich, brown sugar - bubblegum - cotton candy - plum, malt. This is really hitting the spot on a snowy day in PA!

Pours a reddish/orange with a light wispy head,aroma has a definent hoppiness to it a little piney and slightly nutty.Taste is intense and chewy with some decent fruitiness with a resiny,hoppy hop flavor that comes on real strong in the finish.A real well made beer,but maybe just a tad hoppy for my liking for the style.After drinking a few sips,oddly it seems to become more drinkable.

Appearance  This was gorgeous. The body is a mystical sort of orangish-brown and very thick. The head came up nicely, went down slowly, then stopped and left little puddles all over the top of the body.

Smell  Oh, does this smell terrific. The solid malt base laced with caramel and sugar is there, but the beautiful hop smell stands out. Its mostly pine and very sharp. The combination and play that they got between the malt and the hops is incredible.

Taste  The sugary malts come out more so in the taste. I thought the aroma favored the hops, even after warming, but the taste is definitely evenly balanced. I love LBBs fork in the road analogy. What impresses me is how everything comes together.

Its hard to describe how good the flavor is of this ale. The quality of ingredients here is beyond reproach. This is an amazing treat.

Mouthfeel  Full in the body with a little carbonation and very chewy. Not much warning of the 11.0 ABV.

Drinkability  This was so good Ill have to log off the site. I couldnt possibly follow this one with another bottle.

Comments  I had broached a trade with OldFrothingSlosh for some SKS and he threw a couple of these in for good measure. How cool is that? This BW, along with SN Bigfoot, sits atop the heap of my Barley Wine Ratings. What an amazing brew!

A: deep ruby body with a fine and creamy head. easily agitated back, subsides to a soft dusting. light splotchy lace stuck to the glass. depending on how the light shines through, this beer looks like black tea or a precious jewel.

S: first huge wave is fruit and carmelized malt. pears, raisins, even bananas. sugar, wet grain, rum, butterscotch. on a deep inhale theres a tinge of alcohol but surprisingly absent from a casual sniff.

T/M: chewy up front and at first, but the mouthfeel mellows as the glass empties and turns softer and slicker. big malt profile hits the front of the tongue, like wet pastries, rum cake, etc...fruit pulls through and mid palate a light candy quality. sugar dies out on the finish and a dry, but barely hoppy finish progresses. can be a bit astringent at times. both maple syrup and a woody quality abound, along with candy and fruit. dense. alcohol barely perceptible in taste but warming in the belly.

D: for so much alcohol its scary easy to put down, however the weight and residual sugar make this a solo night cap for me. not uncommon at all for barley wine.

Overall: this is a tasty treat but at this point, way too young. this beer is chaotic, struggling for cohesion and direction. with a few years on her, she'll be drinking damn fine and with serious purpose. at this point? one ackward youth with no conviction of her own.

A: Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a pint glass. Deep clear dark amber color with very small off-white head. Short retention and minimal lacing.

S: Sweet malty smell of molasses.

T: The smell is very accurate to the taste; sweet heaviness with a clear taste of dark molasses.

M&D: Heavy sweet mouthfeel with a nice carbonation. Definitely hides the strength of this brew perfectly. Even with a deep pull there isn't much immediate warming. Smooth and fulfilling.

This goes down so smooth that it's sneaky! It's easy to forget the strength of Old Horizontal because it really doesn't taste like it should be this strong. Although quite sweet it isn't really cloying. I would have expected more in the way of aroma but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Definitely started feeling this one by the time I got through the bottle. Very good.

Jan 11, 2005 bottling. Pours a deep cherry color-this one's a beaut! Smells rather like pinecones, with a bit of alcohol present. Alcohol appears in the taste as well, which is most excellent. Big caramel malt, and that hop bitterness. As good as this is now, I'm betting it will be better in a year or so.

Overall, very tasty barleywine here. Even though it was bottled only a few weeks ago, it's not at all overwhelming (as opposed to that Old Crusty I had a while back).Watch that alcohol, though. It sneaks up on you!

This brew pours a deep opaque amber/red with a small tannish head to it. Looks like a damn fine barleywine from here. Head retention is minimal, but that is expected. The smell is a wonderful mix of deep caramel notes with some candy fruits and alcohol as well. Some piney hop notes hit my nose as well. Damn, I must say I love smelling barleywines....

The first sip is simply luscious. A rush of caramel nutty goodness passes over my palate. This one has quite a bit of sweetness and the malt is rockin. The piney hops are there as well and provide a nice biterness on the back of the palate. All I can say is, Yum! Alcohol is well hidden in the flavor as well.

The mouthfeel is quite full and it has a great body...there's no complaints here! Drinkability is good as well. On a cold winters night I could make it through a few of these. However, this is a brew that is best sipped and enjoyed over a length of time. All my thanks to blitheringidiot for allowing me the pleasure of partaking in such a wonderful brew.

Pours a beautiful crimson red with a 3/4" white head on top. Head reduces to a thin layer which tries to stick to the glass. A nice appearance for a beer with this abv level.

Aroma has a strong caramel and brown sugar sweetness. Lots of dark fruits like plums and raisins come through. Taste follows suit with the aroma except with a little more alcohol. This barleywine is really smooth though and one of my favs. A very simple flavor that works well together.

Mouthfeel is smooth and heavy on the tongue. Coats the mouth well. Drinkability is good for this style of brew. A nice overall sweetness which isn't overdone and a smoothness which is hard to come by makes this a highly drinkable barleywine...even if you do have to sip it.

Bottled beer with Enjoy by Nov 6 2014 on the label. In a snifter the beer was a hazy cherry amber color with a rim of tan head that lasts all the way through. It had a sweet, toffee aroma, as well as some alcohol. A little bit of fruit, some toffee, and the alcohol. I enjoyed this beer, but thought it was a little hot. Probably letting it sit would improve it.

A - pours a very deep amber/red with three fingers of light tan head. Head has pretty good retention and leaves some lacing.

S - Fruits dominate the aroma. Raisins and some vinous aromas and cherries come through. Also a lot of caramel malts. Did not detect any real hop presence in the smell.

T - Similar to smell, fruits and caramel malts dominate. The hops start to come in half way through and provide a nice bitterness on the finish. For being fresh, this isn't really harsh at all and has a pretty nice flavor profile. Alcohol is actually pretty well hidden, though there is a very slight medicinal taste near the finish. As I get through this one, the alcohol and bitterness become more apparent on the finish, but by no means overwhelming.

M - mouthfeel is somewhat thick and creamy.

D - Pretty drinkable for a fresh barleywine, but one is definitely enough. I thought this might be a bit more harsh fresh, but was pleasantly surprised.

Beautiful deep orangey auburn color. Nose is malt with spice and pine. Big flavor, with round malt and hints of pine or spruce, coriander, orange blossom, raspberry, slight toasty-chocolatey malt flavors, and that everloving warming surge o' alcohol. The aftertaste is close to perfect with all of the flavors melding, plus a slight alcoholic burn on the back of the tongue.

If someone were to take a Anchor Christmas 2000 and cross it with a hoppy barleywine, it would taste close to (but not quite as good as) this. An exceptionally good barleywine.

12 oz bottle dated Jan 6, 2001. Pours a deep copper red with a creamy whitish tan head that retains well. There's lots of yeast at the bottom of the bottle.

The aroma is sweet and spicy caramel and molasses, and some figs with a touch of alcohol.

The flavor is similar to the nose - spicy and sweet caramel with some citric hops and dark fruits. Some hop bitterness comes out in the finish. Normally I don't care for noticable alcohol, but this has a strong but surprisingly pleasant alcohol warming. The mouthfeel is full bodied and very smooth and creamy.

Overall, an excellent barleywine - the best I've had to date. Very well made and superbly balanced. A real treat to drink! I'll have to try this fresh sometime as I'm sure it is much hoppier.